16
My Strange Oppa
You were full, but when you went home, you found your Dad in the kitchen cooking dinner.
In an instant, all of the irritation from Jinyoung disappeared. The delicious aroma of marinated steak sizzling on the pan made the hunger return.
You almost went into a fit of giggles when you noticed your father’s new apron. It was blue and there was Doraemon all over it.
“Appa! What are you wearing? Do not you know the latest fashion for apron designs is Pororo?” You teased as you walked up behind him. You took a sneak peak past his shoulder and looked at the food he was cooking.
He turned around and made a face. “What? Isn’t this stylish?”
You crossed your arms and shook your head, “more like a fashion terrorist!”
He narrowed his eyes and turned his face to pay attention to the beef. “This is just for my protection! My skin is very valuable to me, you know that right? I can’t harm it in any way!”
You rolled your eyes. “Appa, sometimes I swear you’re still 17.”
He stiffened up a bit and his eyes softened in reminisce. “Yeah… sometimes I still believe I’m in that time again.”
You noticed it and was about to speak but he put his finger up.
“Go change, dinner will be ready soon,” he smiled and urged you out so you can go change.
You were going to say you were still full, but you didn’t want to crush his feelings. It’s been several days since you’ve seen him since he always had work and errands to run.
After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, you went back into your room with a towel over your head.
You could still hear the clusters of noises from downstairs. You shook your head with a small smile on your face.
You sat at your work area and patted your hair dry. Your anger towards Jinyoung had died down. *Wait, why am I thinking about it again?* Your eyes flared as the emotions began to rage again.
You started wiping your hair angrily. While doing so, your eyes caught a white note in the corner of the desk. It was scrunched up into a tiny ball. With one hand still wiping your head, your other hand reached out for it.
You unfolded it and a sigh escaped your lips. *It’s the note he gave me when we first met.*
Flashbacks of your encounter played in your head. The way he tried to hide, the way he failed at hiding himself, the way he laughed nervously and had that stupid wide grin, the way he tricked you into giving your hand out. Without realizing, you were smiling to yourself as well.
“~~~~! Dinner’s done!” Your Dad chimed.
You quickly snapped out of your daze. Your smile vanished and you jogged down the stairs.
It was like an American meal. Your Dad had made, Steak marinated in steak sauce, mashed potatoes and bread.
“I hope you like it! I worked so hard,” your Dad wiped an invisible bead of sweat.
You laughed, “you know I like your cooking the best!” You put a thumbs up and nodded encouragingly.
He patted your head and smiled.
You were taking bites when thoughts of Jinyoung rushed into your mind again. *I wonder why it’s so important for him to give me the money… I mean my uniform wasn’t ruined or anything.* You ate slowly.
Your father eyed you peculiarly.
*Was I too mean back then?* You thought back to when you threw the envelope at him. *Maybe that was too much… storming off is definitely too much.* You didn’t realize that you were just poking at your steak now, the guilt finally hitting you.
Your Dad stopped eating and watched you with wary eyes.
*Should I apologize? Ugh. He’s the first person I’ve ever yelled at.* You sighed and felt immensely bad. You weren’t the type to just blow up on people, but whenever you were with him, another side seems to come out.
“Alright, what’s on your mind?” Your father interrupted your reverie.
You instantly looked up with your wide, ullzang eyes. “Mwoh?”
Your father was already done his plate. He pushed it forward and crossed his arms as he leaned back on his chair. “What are you thinking so intently? Is it my cooking? It’s pretty bad, huh?”
You look down and realized you still had half your food left. At this point you were just poking at every thing.
You dropped your fork and laughed nervously. You grabbed a cup of water and drank it.
Your father raised his eyebrow, waiting for your answer.
“How was work today?” You tried to change the subject and began eating again.
“Same old,” he replied, narrowing his eyes.
You nodded. “That’s good.”
“Did you do something wrong?” his voice grew suspicious.
You burst out laughing. You pointed to yourself in disbelief. “Me? Me? Your angel child?! ME?”
Your father cracked a smile. “Okay, that’s true. You don’t have the guts to do anything bad. You’re not cool like your appa here!”
You rolled your eyes and snorted.
His smile faded and looked at you worriedly. “I’m sorry hunny, I’ll stop joking. What’s wrong ~~~~~?”
“It’s nothing,” you shrugged.
He looked at you. You were eating silently. “Did someone break your heart?” Your father playfully rolled his sleeves up and smacked one of his balled fist into his palm. “Does someone need a beating?”
You chuckled and shook your head, “no one breaks my heart, I break hearts!”
Your father cheered with a wide smile. “That’s my babygirl!”
You smiled but the smile fell when you noticed how skinny your Father has gotten. “Appa, you need to eat more! Look at all the skin and bones.”
Your father quickly noticed his exposed collar bone and buttoned it up. “I’m sorry, fast metabolism runs in the family. I mean, look at you!”
You rolled your eyes and chuckled. *One good thing about him, he has such a small attention span.*
You finished and pushed the plate away. *Now I’m really full.* You sat on your with a blank face while rubbing your tummty. “Appa, thanks for the meal.” He nodded.
Your father quickly gathered up the dishes. As he reached his arms out, your eyes narrowed in at the marks on his wrist.
*What is that?* You tilted your head. Your hand naturally came out trying to touch it. Your Dad flinched and moved away.
“Appa…” You mumbled.
All the dishes fell from his hands and collapsed on the floor.
His eyes rounded and looked up at you in reassurance, “it’s okay. I’ll get them! Go have fun now.”
You gulped. “Wait, your wrist…”
He shook his head. “Work, that’s all.”
You didn’t quite believe him.
He gave you a small smile. “Go ~~~~~.”
Your thoughts of Jinyoung appeared yet again, which distracted you from any other thought.
When you were gone, your father leaned back against the counter and heaved a deep sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment as he rubbed his forehead in frustration.
In fear you might come back down and see his distress, he reopened his eyes and gathered up the broken plates.
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